You know the expression, “stop and smell the roses” ? Well, our version of that is, “stop the vehicle, get out with your camera and take pictures of the roses”. The Prairie Wild Rose has started blooming recently but they are kinda beat up by the 35 mile per hour winds we’ve been getting lately.

This one was not in as bad shape as others along the road.

This is a non native grass brought over from Europe by the name of Japanese Brome.

I like how it sways with the slightest breeze. Course, here is Kansas we don’t get slight breezes, so what am I talking about?

I’ve seen this along the road but never knew what it was until after I took these pics and looked it up.

I thought it looked familiar, and I was right as it is called Wild 4 O’Clock, and is related the the garden plant many of us are familiar with.

It’s a native to Kansas, and was used by the Native Americans to treat sore muscles, burns, fevers, and the leaves were rolled and smoked.

We were serenaded as we took pictures by a dickcissel on a nearby fence.

These little prairie birds are never far away and their calls can be heard on the wind all summer long.

The evening light began to fade over the fields of young corn and soybeans, and we headed back home.